Lukas On The Cliff By The Sea
by Yoongi-cat
Summary: After being rescued from a glass jar by Mathias, Lukas forms a deep bond with him and desires to become a human little boy. Based on Ponyo. (Winner of the writing category in the GhibliTalia contest held in Hetalia Amino.)
1. Prologue

In the beautiful underwater scenery, at the bottom, was a four-flipped submarine with a giant bubble with a young man inside it. He placed drops of liquid on the bubble's ground from where he stood, emitting lights everytime it hit the ground. He looked upwards and gasped as a squid's head began to emit colors and grabbed a light gun. Pointing it at the squid, he flashed lights from it, removing the colors from the squid's head. He then waved it around for a moment before flashing it to his own face and placed it back in his pocket.

As he carefully looked at his jars, a small window from his submarine opened and out came some bubbles and a lavender-colored gold fish with blonde hair. The little fish looked around before swimming out. His little brothers followed him. Quickly, he hushed them and gently pushed his brothers back inside but their father heard them and turned his head around.

Thinking that he would catch them, the fish tried to swim back in the hole but he was too startled to get back in and ended up covering the hole instead, where his brothers slipped between him and back inside. The father tried to look but a large creature prevented him from doing so.

The fish uncovered the hole and his brothers swam out but he quickly motioned for them to stay back inside. He kissed one of the brothers and swam away, where they waved him goodbye.

Loki, yeah, a perfect name for the lavender colored blonde-haired gold fish, swam into a jellyfish party and entered a small one. He landed on a bigger one and all of the jellyfish swam upwards. Loki lifted his jellyfish case a little and looked up, amazed at the light that was going to greet him. He lied down on his back and placed the case back on him before closing his eyes to sleep for a while.

 _Time skip_

The jellyfish had swam to the coast and Loki opened his eyes as a giant shadow passed by. He flipped himself around and the jellyfish brought him to the surface of the water, where he found a house on a hill.

In the house, out came a young boy with spiky blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a thin grey sweater with a shirt of the flag of Denmark on top of it, blue shorts, grey socks and yellow shoes. The boy named Mathias carried a toy boat and he carefully ran down the trail that lead to his house. "Mathias! Come back right up, okay?" His mother called out. "Okay!" He replied as he ran down the trail.

Loki was so amazed by the house that he didn't notice a school of sardines swim close to him, that is, until it got closer to him. He looked at his right and found a fishing trawler headed right for him. Startled, he got off from his jellyfish and swam away from the boat. The net made the garbage fly everywhere. Loki gasped as he dodged the garbage, trying to avoid getting caught. A jar went to his direction before...

 _Plop!_

Loki's head was shoved into it. He tried to wiggle free but the jar slowed him down and he got caught in the net, along with the other garbage. Despite the jar trapping him, Loki managed to slip through a hole from the net and swam above to the shore.

As Mathias climbed down the last steps, he was about to place his toy boat in the water when he found a jar with a goldfish in it. He set his toy down on the ground and slipped his shoes and socks off before stepping into the water.

The young Danish boy bent over and grabbed the jar. "A goldfish." He said, amazed. He tried to move it up and down to free the trapped creature but had no luck. He then grabbed him by the bottom and began to pull him free to which he had no luck as well.

Mathias went back to the land and grabbed his toy, shoes and socks and immediately went to higher ground as a wave shot by, a pair of large eyes being visible before the wave contracted. "Weird." He commented. He set his boat and the jar down as he grabbed a nearby rock. Careful as to not hurt the trapped fish, he smashed it open, as well as cutting his thumb in the process.

He lifted the fish in his palm and examined it. "Looks dead..." Mathias commented. His cut thumb that was near the fish's mouth bled and suddenly, the fish's tongue shot out and cleaned it. "It's alive!" He said happily.

"Mathias! Come on!" His mother called out. Mathias slipped into his socks and shoes and grabbed his toy. Stronger waves that had eyes began to follow him as he ran back up to his house. "Mor (Mom)! Look! A goldfish!" He said. The waves climbed up but gave up.

Laura, Mathias' mother, waited for him. "Ah, this wind is getting crazy." She commented. "I'll start the car now, okay?" She said as she went to the garage.

Alexander, the wizard from the bottom of the sea, rised up, a bubble encasing his head. The bubble popped and he looked at the waves. "Did you find my son?" He asked them. The waves shook their heads (did they even have one?) in response. "Hva (What)?! He was captured by a human!" He exclaimed.

They looked at Mathias, who was running to the back of his house. "A boy." The Norwegian wizard sighed. "This is very bad." With that, they swam back down to the water.

Mathias ran to the faucet and turned it on. He grabbed his bucket and filled it with water. Once it was full, he removed the bucket and placed the goldfish inside it.

He placed his toy aside and turned off the faucet. He squatted back down and looked at the bucket. "Is it dead already?" He asked himself as he poked the the fish. He brought the face closer to make it visible. "Oh! You're alive!" He said, relieved. As if in response, the fish squirted water out of his mouth and hit the Danish boy's face.

The fish swam around in the bucket, happy to have water with him. "Mathias! You know I have work!" Laura called out. Mathias picked up his bucket and ran to the car. "Mor! I found a goldfish!" He said. "A goldfish?" Laura asked. "Ja! It was right by the rocks!" Mathias answered.

The Danish woman looked out of her car's window and found a strange looking man on the grass, spraying water on them. Laura was a little irritated: doesn't he know that it's rude to wet the ground everywhere?

As Mathias climbed down the steps and entered the car, the man saw him and began to walk towards them. Angry, Laura got out of her car. "I don't know who you are but we don't use weed killer!" She said. The man was taken aback at what she said. "This isn't weed killer! It's the purest lotion water! It keeps me from drying up from the land!" He exclaimed.

Laura went in her car and began to drive away. "Undskyld os (Excuse us)!" She said. The man watched the car go away as he sprayed more water on the ground. "This is bad, this is very bad..." He mused to himself as he ran.


	2. Chapter 1

"Wow, what a freak show..." Laura commented as she drove on the road. "But don't call others a freak show, okay? Don't judge people by their looks." She told to Mathias. "Jeg ved, mor (I know, mom). I don't." Mathias replied, keeping his eyes focused on his green bucket.

The woman looked at the inside of the bucket. "Another experiment for school?" She guessed. Her son nodded in reply. "Maybe he doesn't like show and tell." Laura said. "I think it will be fine." Mathias assured. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of you." He told to the lavender fish. "Huh, he sure is handsome." Laura commented, quickly looking at the fish before going back to looking at the road.

The woman spotted the harbor at their distance to the left. "There's a ship..." She mused and looked at Mathias. Laura grabbed a sandwich and shoved it in her mouth before grabbing another one to give it to Mathias. "Eat up." She said as Mathias took the ham, lettuce and cheese sandwich.

Mathias looked at his bucket. "I wonder if he will eat this..." He wondered. "Want some?" He asked and brought the sandwich close to the bucket's rim. "Oh, my cut healed!" The young Dane exclaimed, holding his thumb up. He then looked at his mother. "Mor, I think I'll call him Lukas." He said.

"Hm?" Laura mumbled between bites. "He came to me. He might be magic." Mathias wondered. "I saved him. He's my responsibility now." He swore and plucked a small portion of the bread. Mathias gave it to Lukas, who shook his head. The Dane ate it, seeing as the fish denied it. "Ah, you want ham instead?" He asked.

As the Dane tore off a small piece with his mouth, Lukas jumped up and grabbed the whole slice with his mouth, pulling it towards him.

 _Plop!_

Mathias was soaked with water, surprised. He watched Lukas nibble on the ham and smiled. "Mor, Lukas really likes ham." He commented. "So he thinks he's human?" Laura asked.

Meanwhile, in the sea, Alexander trudged as he followed them, desperate to save his son. He looked at his right side but was blocked by boats. Looking in front, Alexander saw a huge one and submerged underwater. The Norwegian wizard saw the boat underneath and gasped as he steered away. "Agh, disgusting humans..." He groaned, dirt filling his view.

"Come on, Laura! Hurry!" A boat docker yelled as Laura picked up the speed a little and drove across. "Morning Ivan!" She yelled to the driver of a sunflower delivery van. Mathias looked out the window and brought the bucket closer. "Look Lukas, you can see our house!" He pointed out. Lukas was so astonished. A house perched on top of a mountain, now that's a sight to behold.

Laura entered the Himawari House grounds (which was right next to Himawari Elementary School) and parked her car in the parking lot. "Ask about the fish." She reminded. "Jeg vil (I will)." Mathias noted. Laura kissed her son's cheek. "Love you, honey." She said and got out of the car and ran to the entrance.

"Morning! It seems like I'm always late!"

"Can you get me another wheelchair?"

"Sure!"


	3. Chapter 2

Mathias got out of his mother's car and carefully took his green bucket, closing the car door. He began to walk, keeping his eyes in the bucket. "Good morning, Mathias." An elderly woman greeted as a caretaker helped her get off the white van. "Undskyld mig (Please excuse me), I'm in a hurry right now." Mathias politely said, not taking his eyes off the bucket.

"Is that so?" The elderly woman asked. "What's that, Mathias?" Another asked. "Not now, I'm concentrating." The Danish boy replied. Mathias slipped through a small hole of the bamboo fences, making his way to Himawari Elementary School.

"Maybe the teacher will get mad." Mathias mused to himself, knowing that his teacher doesn't like it when kids bring things as it is against the rules. "Ah, I know." He placed his bucket under a bush. "You'll be safe here, Lukas. I'll be back soon." Mathias assured. He grabbed a big leaf and placed it on top of the bucket to hide the lavender fish.

"Stay put, okay? I'll be right back." The Danish boy said. With that, he stood up and walked away. Lukas poked his head through the leaf a little before quietly swimming in his bucket.

 _Later..._

"See you later." A mother told to her child as she walked away. Other parents dropped off their children to the school. A teacher conversed with a mother, who was reminding about her daughter's cough and will be notified when it got worse.

Mathias slipped in, leaning on the door as he clutched his flag of Denmark shirt. "Good morning, teacher!" He greeted. "Good morning, Mathias." She greeted back as she walked out.

"Mathias!" A Finnish voice rang. "Oh, Tino!" Mathias said. "Look at me! My mama made this! Is it nice?" Tino wore a Santa-like outfit that was tailored to fit the current season. Mathias just hummed in reply when another child went near him. "Hej (Hey) Mathias, let's go play." He said in a Swedish accent.

"Can't. I'm busy." The Danish boy lied. "You're not busy! You're only five!" Tino pouted. "I am! I have a job!" Mathias countered. "You're so weird." The Finnish boy insulted as he walked away. "Ja (Yeah)." The Swedish agreed as he followed Tino.

Mathias snuck away and ran back to the bush where he hid Lukas. He removed the leaf and gasped. Lukas wasn't moving! "Lukas?" Mathias called, dipping his hand in the water to nudge him. "Lukas!" He called again.

Lukas yawned and rubbed his eyes with his small hand. Mathias cried, relieved that he was alive. "Mathias." He heard a voice. "Oh, Tino!" He gasped. "What is that?" Tino asked. "You know there are rules for bringing things to school for a reason!" Tino reminded. "Jeg ved (I know)! This isn't school!" Mathias exclaimed, picking up his bucket and leaned it to the leaves of the bushes to hide it.

"These bushes are on the senior property!" He buried himself deeper in the leaves. "Let me see!" The Finnish boy tried to peek through the Danish boy's shoulders but to no avail. He finally succeeded. "Oh, a goldfish?" He asked. "He's not just a goldfish. He's Lukas." Mathias answered. "Lukas?" Tino repeated. "Let's see!"

Mathias let Tino see Lukas. "Alright, but don't tell that he's here." He requested. "I won't!" Tino promised. "Look but don't touch. That's my only rule." Mathias said as he took the bucket out of the bushes. "Look at him! Isn't he handsome?" He asked as he showed Lukas to Tino.

Lukas looked at Tino for a moment before turning away. Tino felt insulted. "That's the most boring goldfish I've ever seen in my entire life!" He spat. Lukas turned around as if he heard it and spat water at Tino.

Tino screamed as he got hit by the liquid. Lukas dove back in the bucket when he finished. The Finnish boy began to cry. His outfit was ruined thanks to the water. Mathias made a run for it, knowing that he might be angry at him later. He slipped through the hole of the bamboo fences, running to the garden beds of Himawari House.

Mathias sat down and laid the bucket in front of him. "That was Tino's fault." He joked. "You should never judge others by their looks." He remembered what his mother told him. The Danish boy saw a faucet with a hose attached and turned back to Lukas. "Let's get some more water."

He took the bucket to the house and set it in front of him. The Danish boy grabbed the hose and began to tug on it. Mathias stumbled and tipped over the bucket. Lukas began to bounce on the drain as the water went through it. Mathias hurriedly picked up Lukas and turned on the faucet.

After filling up the bucket, he placed the lavender fish inside and brought his face close to it. "Lukas!" He called. Lukas opened his eyes and spat water in reply. Mathias giggled. "That's my fault." He joked.

"There it comes again." Mathias heard. "I hear Mathias' voice. But I know that he's in school right now. I must be hearing things." The elderly woman mused to herself. "Look Frk (Miss) Agathe, I'm right over here." Mathias revealed. Agathe saw the Danish boy and her face lit up. "Ah, that's a relief. I thought I lost my mind already." She said.

Mathias stood in front of the two elderly women. "Are you ready to see my big surprise?" He asked. "What is it?" Agathe asked. "I'll show you, but first, guess what color he is!" Mathias said. Agathe and Britt thought for a moment. "He's lavender!" They guessed. "That's right!" The Danish boy happily said. "How did you guess that?"

"Come on!"

"Show us!"

"Okay!" Mathias said and went near the eldery Danish and Norwegian women. He presented his green bucket to the pair, where they took a peek. "Why look, Britt!" Agathe cooed. "He's very handsome." Britt complimented. "His name is Lukas." Mathias told. "He likes to eat ham and he can do magic!" He added.

Agathe held her breath in interest. "I got a cut on my thumb and it went away because he licked it." The Danish boy described. The elderly women "ooh"ed. "Maybe he can use some of his magic to fix my hips and back!" Agathe wondered. "I want a fish that can lick me to get me out of this wheelchair." Britt jokingly wished.

"Well, I don't know about all that licking if I had those-" Mathias was cut by another elderly voice. "Let me have a look at that green pail." She said in a Swedish accent. "Ja, Frk Ebba (Yes Miss Ebba)." Mathias said and showed Ebba his pail. Ebba took a peek and screamed a little. "It has a real face!" She wailed. "Put it back in the ocean! Don't you realize it'll cause a tsunami?!" The Swedish elder babbled.

"Oh you, that's just a myth, Ebba." Agathe said. "Fish with faces will cause tsunamis! That's what they always say!" Ebba reminded. Lukas began to spray water on the elderly Swedish woman's face. She screamed at the contact. "Tsunami! Tsunami! It's here!" She babbled.

"Mathias! Put it back in the ocean! Where he belongs!" Ebba yelled. Mathias ran away from the elder women. Laura heard the commotion and immediately went to the women. "Ebba! What's the matter?" She asked. "I'm soaking wet! Look at my clothes!" Ebba pointed.


	4. Chapter 3

**Hi~ I'm sorry for my unexplained hiatus. School got in the way but hey I'm free now! If you were following me on Hetalia Amino (my name is Min Yoongi), you read this already. If not, hello!**

 **Shameless self-advertise (/w/): please check out Doki Doki Hetalia Club on my Quotev! (my name there is YandereLuciano)**

* * *

Mathias ran as far as he could, running down the stairs that led to the ocean. "Mathias!" He heard his mother yell. Mathias kept on running, passing by over the rocks. "Mathias!" His mother yelled again. "Mathias!" Laura's tone became an angry one. The Danish boy entered a small opening and settled there, putting his green bucket in front of him. He could feel his mother looking over the port. "Mathias! Come back here and apologize!" She reminded. Laura groaned as she ran to another direction, searching for her son.

Feeling that she was gone, Mathias looked at Lukas. "Don't worry Lukas. No matter what, I will protect you. I promise." He swore. "Mathias!" Lukas called. This surprised Mathias. Lukas talked! And his first word was Mathias' name. "Mathias!" Lukas called out again. Mathias began to giggle. "Lukas!" The fish said. The Danish boy nodded. "Lukas." Mathias pointed to him and then to himself. "Mathias."

"Lukas. Loves. Mathias!" Lukas said as he happily flipped. "I will love you too." Mathias replied. "Lukas loves Mathias!" Lukas repeated. Mathias giggled. He really loved Lukas so much. The two didn't notice a bubble emerge from the ocean. It popped, revealing the owner. It was Alexander, Lukas' father. He swam close to them as he emerged, a bubble on his palm. The bubble burst, revealing the same creatures from before.

The Danish boy lifted his head and gasped. It was already too late to react and he was swallowed by them. The green bucket that had Lukas in it slipped from his grip due to the force of the creatures. Mathias was soon released, soaked from head to toe. "Lukas?!" He gasped, noticing that the bucket was no longer with him. He looked at where the creatures where heading and knew that they had taken him. "Lukas!" He cried. Mathias didn't even bother to take off his shoes and socks and went straight to the ocean.

He kept on calling out for the fish's name. He stopped when he saw the green bucket emerge. Mathias grabbed it but Lukas wasn't inside it. "Lukas? Lukas!" He desperately called out. Laura heard the commotion and gasped. "Mathias!" She immediately ran to the bottom to save her son. "Lukas! Lukas! Lukas!" Laura grabbed Mathias and the green bucket. Mathias sobbed as he was being carried back to dry land.

Meanwhile in the deep ocean, Alexander finally succeeded in getting his son back and was now in a submarine, a bubble in his hand. Lukas struggled as he tried to free himself from the bubble and his father. No! He wanted to be with that boy! Not underwater! Lukas' mental cries were left unheard as the sub disappeared.

Back on land, Mathias and Laura had decided to go back home, stopping to buy groceries and ice cream for the Danish boy. Mathias didn't even had the courage to take a lick out of his sweet treat, a miserable look etched on his face. "Listen Mathias, this could be for the best. I know you tried but Lukas is a fish. He wasn't meant to live in a bucket. The ocean is home to him." Laura exclaimed. "Let's go home now, ja? Hopefully, we won't run into more weirdos." Laura said, almost colliding with another car.

"Can I have a lick?" She requested. "Hurry, it's about to melt!" Mathias handed over his ice cream to his mother, who took a big lick out of it (not that he minded or anything). "Your father's favorite, and yours too." The Danish woman joked as she drove higher to the road that led to their house. "Jeg er virkelig ked af det (I'm really sorry), Mathias. But your father is finally coming home tonight. You can tell him all about Lukas." Laura said, trying to cheer up Mathias. Laura parked the car in the garage and began to take out all of the groceries as Mathias went out.

Th Danish woman got her house keys and unlocked the door as she pushed a heavy bag inside. Instead of walking in, Mathias simply went to the back. "No more ocean today, okay?" She reminded. Mathias made a sound of acknowledgement. He put the green bucket down and picked up his toy boat as he stared at the ocean. He picked up the bucket and went through a hole made by the house fence and looked out at the ocean.

He kept on leaning closer inch by inch until he heard his mother call out to him. "Mathias, time to come in now." She reminded. "Maybe if I leave the pail, Lukas will know where we live until he comes back." Mathias thought. "Do that. I think that's a lovely thing to do for Lukas." Laura encouraged. Mathias smiled and hung the bucket upside down on the fence as he ran inside the house while carrying his toy boat.

Laura focused on cooking dinner, checking the oven in the process when she heard the phone ring. "Mathias? Can you get that?" She called. "It might be your father." She added. Mathias picked up the phone immediately. "Hej (Hello)?" He said. "Ja, she's fine. Are you at the dock?" Mathias asked. "I caught a second run so I have to take it. I won't be home tonight." Adrian, Mathias' father answered. "I'll signal you when we pass." He promised. "Can you help me out with your mother?" Adrian asked. "Ingen (No), you should tell her." Mathias said.

Laura went near and took the phone. "Hej skat (Hi honey). Uh huh...hvad (what)?! Too many in a row! You should let someone else take it! Go ahead, abandon your wife and son up here on a cliff alone!" Laura scolded. She angrily slammed the phone down, followed by a "Fjols (Jerk)!" She stomped back to the kitchen and took out her anger on her own cooking.

"Come on Mathias, let's get out of here." The Danish woman yelled as he took off her apron. "What if Lukas comes back...?" Mathias absentmindedly asked. Laura was too angry and stomped to the fridge to grab a drink. She took off the cap and was displeased as foam began to spill.

That night, Mathias decided to stay up late and be on guard in case Lukas would come back or his father's ship would show up. "Far (Dad)!" He exclaimed. "Mor, turn off the lights! Don't you want to signal him?" Mathias asked. Laura just remained still on the floor, hugging the pillow close to her. She let out a sound of refusal in response. The Danish boy turned off the lights in the room and began to take control of the dock lights.

From the ship, Adrian could clearly see the light. "Hey, my son is working on the signal all by himself!" He proudly said to the captain. "Can you believe that?" He happily added. "Your wife must be pretty mad." The captain commented as Adrian began to send a message through the lights. "S - O - R - R - Y." Mathias spelled out from the signal. "Far says he's very sorry!" He said to his mom. "B - U - G - O - F - F." Laura spelled out. She continued to yell out the letters as Mathias attempted to spell it out using the signal light.

Mathias deciphered the next set out lights. "Mor, far says he loves you." He said. "He says lots and lots." He added. Laura angrily shot up from her position. She began to spell out "idiot" with the light. The ship's light continued going on until the entire thing lit up. Mathias let out a happy sound at the sight. Laura just walked away, still angry at her husband. Mathias sent out another message, to which he got "Jeg elsker dig (I love you)" as a response and another, the ship completely vanishing to the horizon.


End file.
